Prairie Central band working on an equal plane

Luke Smucker

Saturday

Aug 11, 2018 at 10:07 AM

For second-year Prairie Central High School Band Director Eric Hall, a new school year means a new focus for the high school’s marching program. The Marching Hawks finished up their seven-day summer band camp on Aug. 3 and Hall says the students are hoping to see big improvements during this year’s marching season. “During that first year, I felt like a substitute teacher,” Hall, a 1999 PCHS graduate, said. “It takes a lot of time to get to know the kids, so last year my mission was to survive the year and end it on a positive note. “Now that I’m in my second year, a lot of the kids from last year are coming back and I won’t have to spend so much time figuring out where everyone is at from a music education standpoint. They showed up for the first day of band camp and knew what to expect from me and I knew what to expect from them.” This year’s band is a slight increase from last year with 108 members. Hall estimates about 75 percent of the band is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Two of the band’s drum majors from last year are returning this year, including junior Kira Gehring. “Band camp went really well,” Gehring said. “I think this year we put in a lot more effort than we have in the past. We don’t just want to get it done, we want to get it done right.” Gehring said being selected as a drum major for her second year was a dream come true. “Last year I didn’t think I would want to be a drum major, but when the position opened up I realized that it was something that I really wanted to pursue. I am proud to be taking a leadership role in the band this year, too,” Gehring said. “To me, being a drum major means that I am a responsible person. I’m learning a lot about how to lead people, which gives me a glimpse into what work in the business world might be like. I hope that we raise our expectations this year. I want (us) to be a band that people see and respect. I want the community to not think of us as ‘band kids’ but as a group of young people who work hard.” Hall appreciates having experienced drum majors in marching band because they understand his expectations. “I don’t have to say much to them,” Hall said. “They come in during the morning, grab what they need off my desk and off we go.” While most programs might expect their drum majors to do be leaders, Hall said he runs marching band without the individual accolades. “We don’t have a bench or starters, everybody has an equal part,” Hall said. “Whether you’re the drum major or a brass player, everybody has a dot to fill and a role to play. One person’s role is no more or less important than anybody else’s.” Considering the size of the high school, Hall said Prairie Central has a huge band. While he appreciates the student interest, Hall also said that having a big band can mean tough decisions when it comes to picking out competitions. “Other schools our size might have a band of 20 to 40 kids,” Hall said. “But when you go to competitions you compete by band size. So, we’ll be competing with suburban schools that may have many more students and much larger budgets for their music programs.” Instead of setting competition-based goals, Hall is more interested in focusing on meeting daily and weekly performance goals as well as getting students to give their best effort. “Our goals are more internal, from a work-ethic standpoint,” Hall said. “If these kids can meet their potential, the competition success just happens.” The band will also be wearing new marching uniforms this year. Last year, Hall approached the school board about replacing the band’s marching uniforms, which he described as being “way beyond old.” “We needed new uniforms and the board found a way,” Hall said. “So, everybody will be getting new uniforms. We’ve still got to buy some more uniforms to fill out our stock, which will be purchased with fundraising money, but the board was able to help us with the initial purchase of enough uniforms to get the kids in new uniforms this year. So, this year’s band is going to have a different look, a different sound and a whole different attitude.”

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